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The intersection of the web and the World Bank.

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Inside the Web is a blog exploring the intersection of the web, international development, and the World Bank, written by Bank staff that work on online strategy, editorial, content, governance, and technology.

February 2012

One Day on Earth: A small business means more security for a woman in Laos

Submitted by Mehreen Arshad Sheikh on Wed, 02/29/2012 - 11:00

A small business not only provides income, but it provides security and a better life for Khampane Kousonsavath’s family.  In Laos, Khampane’s life is better when she is selling processed food. Owning her own business has been rewarding for her; she is now able to go to school and generate income for her and her family.

As we approach International Women’s Day (March 8), we are highlighting our One Day on Earth participants ranging from women business owners to construction workers who explain to us why their work matters – to them, their families, and their communities.

Watch Khampane Kousonsavath of Laos talk about how her business provides income for her family and allows her to get an education. Stay tuned to hear from a woman who works in an Iraqi hospital, talking  about how saving a life every single day is the most rewarding job. It’s time to #thinkEQUAL. 
 

A woman holds together a business and a family in Tanzania

Submitted by Mehreen Arshad Sheikh on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 15:23

"If you incapacitate a woman, you incapacitate the whole world."

Pili Kafue of Tanzania speaks about her challenging role as a wife, mother and business owner.

On Nov. 11, 2011, more than 48 World Bank countries participated in the One Day on Earth campaign and filmed working women across the globe to capture their thoughts on what it means to have a job.The results were extraordinary and all regions around the world were represented.

Raising the Bar on Transparency, Accountability and Openness

Submitted by Hannah George on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 19:01

The World Bank has taken landmark steps to make information accessible to the public and globally promote transparency and accountability, according to the first annual report on the World Bank’s Access to Information (AI) Policy. 

The report, “Moving Forward Transparency and Accountability,” outlines the AI Policy’s central role in the Bank’s modernization and Open Development agenda, and describes the systems and infrastructure that have been put in place to help maximize public access to Bank information, including the Access to Information Committee’s policy interpretations and the appeals process.  

The First Year in Numbers (July 1, 2010 to June 31, 2011)

119,639 Bank documents released to the public. 
25 million page views on the Open Data website. 
4.5 million page views on the Access to Information external website. 
1.02 million visits to the Documents and Reports website. 
795,000 documents downloaded.

According to the report, the policy is headed in the right direction for the development community.  The policy has encouraged other development institutions to adopt similar public access policies, and, equally important, fosters more systematic engagement with civil society organizations (CSOs). 

For example, local CSOs have leveraged the AI Policy to monitor project procurement plans, encourage access to information initiatives from their own governments, and conduct independent reviews of development outcomes.  Ghana, Uruguay, the Philippines, and Kenya are examples of countries engaged in these efforts against the backdrop of the AI Policy.

“The World Bank’s Access to Information Policy continues to set the standard for other institutions to strive for,” said Chad Dobson, executive director of the Bank Information Center.  Publish What You Fund recently rated the Bank “best performer” in terms of aid transparency out of 58 donors for the second year in a row.  Furthermore, the Center for Global Development and Brookings ranked the International Development Association (the World Bank’s Fund for the Poorest) as a top donor in transparency and learning in its 2011 Quality of Official Development Assistance Assessment (QuODA).

Looking forward, the World Bank will identify new ways to maximize the amount of information available to the public and improve its ability to meet the public’s information needs.  For more information, visit the AI website, download our free mobile apps, or contact any of our Public Information Services worldwide.

Fotopedia, World Bank App Showcases Photos of ‘Women of the World’

Submitted by Olivier Puech on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 12:20



During the 2011 World Bank Annual Meetings, we decided to give the highest visibility to the topic of gender equality in connection with the World Development Report 2012.

The report details the need of the world to close the big gender gaps that exist in order to pursue a path of true development for many countries. There is global progress, for example, in education.

But in other metrics, the data on gender equality is appalling:

Worldwide, women make up the majority of unpaid workers. And violence against women is still widespread.